CONTEMPORARY FIGURATIVE PAINTING ⎪A Living, Human and Independent Practice
LA FILLE DANS LES DRAPS BLEUS (The Girl in the Blue Sheets) – 100 x 100 cm
LA FILLE AU LEVER DU JOUR (The Girl at Dawn) – 100 x 100 cm
Figurative painting is not coming back – it never left
Contemporary figurative painting hasn’t disappeared. It never had to come back, because it never ceased to exist. It has simply remained, quieter than the trends, outside the spotlight, alive in the background. And now, without apology or nostalgia, it asserts itself again as one of the most vibrant expressions of presence and emotion.
I am Alain Rouschmeyer, a French figurative painter. My art is contemporary because it belongs to this time. And it is figurative because it clings to the human. To gestures, to silences, to doubts. I paint not to represent, but to make appear. To make breathe. To create tension between the visible and the intimate.
To paint figuratively today is to stay present in the world
I don’t paint ideas. I paint presences. A hand resting on a knee. A body reclining. A shadow through a curtain. These fragments say more than concepts. They carry a weight. A history. A vibration.
Contemporary figurative art resists speed. It requires time. Attention. Slowness. It resists the flattening of all things into aestheticized content. It invites the viewer not just to look, but to feel.
What is contemporary figurative painting?
Unlike modern figurative painting, born in the 20th century in reaction to abstraction and the avant-garde, contemporary figurative painting is free. It doesn’t react – it proposes. It doesn’t imitate – it translates.
It accepts imperfection, silence, and texture. It welcomes the unresolved. It is not about mastery; it is about presence. That’s what I seek: not correctness, but truth.
I paint the human figure because I believe in its power
I often paint women. Sitting, lying, curled in thought. Their presence is not theatrical. It is honest. Intimate. Tactile. It comes from lived experience.
The human figure is not a motif. It is a space for connection. A mirror. A distance to cross.
Each painting is a trace of my own body in motion. A record of doubt, breath, tension. I do not seek perfection. I seek sincerity.
A face, a posture, a silence
Free figuration, beyond labels
I belong to no school. I follow no rule. My painting is not conceptual. It is not decorative. It is inhabited.
I come from architecture. My eyes were shaped by volumes, frames, and lines. But painting lets me go further. Into the uncertain. The fragile. The living.
Figurative art is often seen as backward-looking. But what could be more contemporary than seeking presence in an image? What could be more current than trusting the gesture?
Series and variations
“Chemin faisant” – presence through absence
In this ongoing series, I paint shoes. Traces. Movements. A way of talking about the human without showing it. Of evoking a passage. A memory.
→ Discover the "Chemin faisant" series
Bodies in withdrawal – silent postures
I also paint bodies in retraction. Figures that turn away. That fold into themselves. I explore solitude, quiet tension, and unspoken emotion.
→ See all original paintings
Contemporary figurative art still matters
It does not compete with digital art. It offers something else: slowness, density, humanity.
It is not here to please everyone. It is here to remain. To persist. To be seen and forgotten, then remembered. To exist in its own rhythm.
→ Read: discover the blog
FAQ about contemporary figurative painting
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Yes. It responds to our desire for presence, for vulnerability, for a non-digital connection.
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Modern figurative painting is rooted in early 20th-century practices. Contemporary figurative painting, like mine, is embedded in today’s world and challenges. It integrates doubt, emotion, and texture.
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You can explore my online gallery, or visit my exhibitions in France.
Conclusion – A painting that stands, breathes, and says “I’m here”
I don’t paint to impress. I paint to transmit. A gesture. A silence. A truth.
Contemporary figurative painting is not a trend. It’s a path. A space for resistance. And maybe, one for recognition.
Discover my latest work: The Girl in the Blue Sheets, a contemplative figurative painting.